All I ever needed to know about Japan, I learned from watching anime

I start my journey on a cold cold march morning and I can see my breath forming as I make my way to the main train station. Arriving just before 7 am, I can see that the previous bullet train to Cologne was almost 20 minutes late. Great, if my train is as on time as that one, I will miss my connecting train. So off to find a station attendant to ask if they have any information about the train status.